Reports: NWA passenger was trying to blow up flight into Detroit

9:15 PM, December 25, 2009

Zan Jafry, left, helps his father, Syed Jafry, with his coat after the elder Jafry arrived from Amsterdam on a Northwest Flight 278 at Metro Airport. Friday, December 25, 2009 A Northwest Airbus 330 carrying 278 passengers landed safely at Detroit metro around noon on Friday, Dec. 25, 2009 on a flight bound from Amsterdam to Detroit. A senior U.S. counterterror official says a passenger aboard a Delta Air Lines flight in Detroit was planning to blow up the plane but the explosive device failed. / WILLIAM ARCHIE/Detroit Free Press

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, identified the suspect as Abdul Mudallad, a Nigerian. King said the flight began in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit. There were 278 passengers aboard the Airbus 330.

There was nothing out of the ordinary until the flight was on final approach to Detroit, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

That is when the pilot declared an emergency and landed without incident shortly thereafter, Cory said in an e-mail message. The plane landed at 11:51 a.m.

One U.S. intelligence official said the explosive device was a mix of powder and liquid. It failed when the passenger tried to detonate it.

The counterterror official said the passenger was being questioned this evening.

The passenger created a disturbance by lighting what was reported to be firecrackers -- or perhaps a "powdery substance" -- onboard the flight, injuring himself and several other passengers, according to Delta Airlines

The man was apparently already on the government's no-fly list of suspected terrorists, ABC News said a senior intelligence official told them.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. It said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

One passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, hospital spokeswoman Tracy Justice said. She would not say what the injuries were.

Because Delta Airlines in Detroit did not handle security for the flight, Elliott said she could not answer how the items that were ignited got on the plane.

She said Delta has a hub in Amsterdam and this one was among several flights today.

Security precautions raised in wake of attempted attack

The Homeland Security Department said passengers may see additional screening measures on domestic and international flights because of the incident.

“We encourage those with future travel plans to stay in touch with their airline and to visit www.tsa.gov for updates,” the department said.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has been briefed on the incident and is closely monitoring the situation.

The department encouraged travelers to be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior to law enforcement officials.